Artworks- Radio National

In May this year, Malpa Director Don Palmer spoke with Amanda Smith on Radio National’s Artworks. The audio can be found at the link on the bottom of this page.

“Chronic kidney disease is a common and serious problem in Australia. Where it’s most common, though, is among Indigenous Australians. In Alice Springs right now there are hundreds of traditional Aboriginal people from communities throughout central Australia who are on, or are about to start, dialysis treatment. One of those is the Western Desert artist Norah Nelson Napaltjarri. Norah’s best known for her Milky Way Dreaming paintings—if you’ve ever been to the Supreme Court in Darwin, there’s a mosaic of one of those paintings of hers on the floor there. Norah’s been on dialysis for ten years.

As part of something called the Malpa Project, Norah Nelson Napaltjarri organised some other Central Australian Indigenous artists to paint their dreaming stories on dialysis machines. The Malpa Project is run through Transplant Australia, and Don Palmer is the project director and he’s speaking to Amanda Smith.”

YOUNG DOCTORS
Young Doctors is a health leadership program which trains Indigenous and Non-indigenous young people to be health ambassadors in their communities. It is designed and run by local Elders, respected community members and supported by health workers in each location. The program teaches leadership, hygiene, health literacy, nutrition and environmental health. This year about 400 Young Doctors will be trained in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. The project is entirely funded by generous private foundations, corporations and individuals